Dec. 29, 2009 — Looking back over the last decade, the first decade of the 21st century, it does not surprise us that we survived and became resilient in the process.   

As the newspaper of record, we have reported on the fun, insane and horrific. In year 2000, we were reporting on the start of the city of Susanville’s natural gas system and the promise of the Dyer Mountain Ski Resort. We are still talking about both projects, but this time it is not in the light that they will bring prosperity and hope to Lassen County but instead trouble and hardship to an already struggling economy. We wonder if how we will be writing about the two in 2020.

Also in the last 10 years we have talked about the problems the state of California has placed on the government agencies within the county of Lassen and the local school districts. Because of the state’s inability to run its budget in a fiscally responsible fashion, the county and schools have had to make decisions that have negatively affected the lifestyles and education of their citizens and students. The impact of the state’s ineptitude is now only beginning to be felt and we wonder what the next 10 years will bring. Many seats are up for election in 2010 and our suggestion is register to vote and become educated on what will be on the June and November ballots then vote wisely.   

One thing that has unfortunately not improved in Lassen County, no fault of the fine law enforcement personnel, is the petty crime. But let’s preface that with saying it is also not at a level like some major cities either. Murder, rape, armed robbery; gang-related class-A crime and other major felonies are not rampant in Lassen County. We are aware the police and deputies do fine work keeping that crime at bay and we also recognize that the citizens keep open eyes and are not afraid to report suspicious behavior and report anything out of the ordinary. However, nuisance crime and domestic violence-related crime is becoming a bigger problem and it is our hope that we see a decrease of that type of crime in the next 10 years. This past year when we, like so many others, heard a sheriff’s deputy had been shot was a hard day for us. Men and women, in uniform be the it police, fire, EMT, paramedic, who are shot, killed or die in the line of duty are heroes and we honor them.   

We also look back and see many wonderful things that have happened such as young ladies being crowned as Miss Lassen County, the Susanville Symphony Society gaining national attention, the Lassen High School football team winning north section championships and friends getting shots at becoming country music stars.    

We are looking forward to the next 10 years and the changes that will come to Lassen County and our opportunities to report them to you.